Frank P. Axiotes helped save Madison R. Daly from burning, Lincoln, Nebraska, September 25, 2020. Daly, 21, was inside a sport utility vehicle that was pinned between a tractor trailer, a concrete barrier and a third vehicle after a multi-vehicle highway accident. Fuel tanks on both the tractor trailer and Daly’s vehicles ruptured, and flames broke out immediately after the crash. Daly’s legs were pinned beneath the dashboard and steering wheel, and she was unable to free herself. Axiotes, who was driving nearby, stopped at the scene. He ran across the interstate highway to the barrier, reached over it, extended his arms through the window, and grasped Daly. Unable to remove Daly through the open window, Axiotes jumped atop the vehicle’s hood and kicked and punched the windshield, creating a small hole, but he failed to gain access to Daly. Another man arrived and Axiotes returned to the driver’s window. Axiotes and the man reached through Daly’s window, grasped her, and pulled her from the vehicle. As the three walked away from the vehicles and crossed the highway to the south shoulder and safety, tires popped and flames grew. Shortly, Daly’s vehicle was engulfed by flames, as was the passenger compartment of the tractor trailer. Daly sustained broken ribs, a concussion, and contusions to her legs. She was not burned. Axiotes sustained lacerations to his hand and was treated at the scene. He recovered.
